


A Lonesome Apprentice

by not nullbubby (NullBubby)



Series: adventures of dan the hot dog man [3]
Category: Kirby (Video Games)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-03
Updated: 2020-03-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:14:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22996012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NullBubby/pseuds/not%20nullbubby
Summary: A young egg wizard has felt left out for much too long. When he gets lost on a camping trip, that finally changes.
Relationships: Magolor & Original Male Character
Series: adventures of dan the hot dog man [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1652671
Kudos: 1





	A Lonesome Apprentice

Despite all of the rowdiness coming from the seats behind them, the bus driver had no care on was happening, so as long as nobody was hurt. Shouts and talking filled the air, tiny pieces of trash were tossed around, and several kids ran about. Everyone was having fun of some sort while they waited to reach their destination.

Except for one.

A small, somewhat egg-shaped boy wearing an intricately designed blue robe sat at the end of one of the seats next to the window. His ears popped out from the top of his hood and the only part of his face that could be seen beneath it were two ovate, yellow eyes on top of a black darkness. A while cloak rested from just below his head, and two floating hands covered each with white gloves and a lack of legs finished his bodily structure. No one sat next to him, or even on the same bench. And no one knew much of anything about him, most not even his name, seeing as he was an extremely shy kid and known to all as an outcast.

A dense piece of trash bounced off his head, so hard that it made him recoil from the pain. Looking behind him, he knew exactly who it was that threw it, and that it was no accident, but he didn’t move from his spot. With little more than a sigh, he continued to stare at the scenery they passed by, not at all excited for the rest of the trip.

* * *

Someone called out to Magolor as they exited through the door, obviously not using his name. Perking up, he noticed most people had exited the bus already, only the last few of the line still remaining. Having been so out-of-earth for so long, he faced slight difficulty in moving properly, but nevertheless made it outside. As the chaperones attempted to keep the group in order, he watched as the vehicle drove off, leaving them on their own. Eventually, the children were organized enough to the point where they could start down the path into a forest. Still distracted by the road the bus drove off on, he was almost left behind, but noticed them before they disappeared out of his sight and dashed towards them.

A large clearing surrounded by trees, shrubs, and other small plants lay at the end of the pathway. Upon the last of the kids coming to the center where the adults waited, they called everyone together for a short speech. Magolor sat down with everyone else, but showed interest in the area around him rather than the words spoken. Despite being so distracted, he had managed to catch something about finding a partner that they would perform activities and such with, staying with them for their entire stay in the wilderness. A long rant on safety from critters, plants, and other dangerous objects scattered about later, and everyone was dismissed for free time. As everyone started walking up to their friends, asking if they would be partners, Magolor wandered around for a while until sitting himself down near the edge of the glade, returning to his observations of the area. Several minutes in, he thought he saw a figure floating just off of the ground, quickly hiding itself just after it was revealed. He rubbed his eyes, thinking he had been imagining things and went towards one of the benches, luckily for him unoccupied, and rested himself, waiting for the end of the day to arrive.

Several hours passed, and everyone was called back for a meeting. Kids approached from all sides, behind trees, down paths, some not having moved very far, and they sat back down. When all together, the instructor started explaining the sleeping situation, where everyone would participate in pitching up the tents they would use for the night, sleeping bags provided for them. As a few chaperones holding the aforementioned objects set them down nearby, the kids were sent to start preparing their shelters with their partners, since they would be sleeping with them for the night. Magolor was the first to grab one, as he didn’t want to be stuffed into one of the others’, and he started setting it up near one of the clearing’s ends. After a short struggle, he had a lopsided tent pitched, and he placed his sleeping bag and pillow inside. Looking around, no one placed their tent even remotely close to his, and he couldn’t tell which was closest.

While the adults took the time to get well-rested for the night, the vast majority of the kids gathered around the fire ring, asking around to see if anyone could light it. Most of them knew that Magolor could start a small fire on his own, seeing him perform his magic a few times, but they didn’t dare approach the outsider and get shamed for doing so. One of them had brought a match, so they were able to get an ember started eventually, then a roaring flame which was surrounded by them immediately. Someone had brought out s’more materials to share with everyone, and they all had a good time, laughing over jokes, playing skits for the others, and munching on treats.

Meanwhile, one of the tents was fully prepared for the night, sleeping bag, air mattress, and pillow in place. Setting his hood down next to it, he laid down, pulling the bag over him, and closing his eyes, hoping he could follow the adults’ plan to get enough rest. With all of the loud noises coming from outside, he struggled to fall asleep, and after a while he had enough and decided to read a book while he waited for them to calm down. This one was “the definitive” amateur's guide of spellcasting, magic, and other forms of sorcery, and he decided he might as well get some practice done instead of laying around.

* * *

A rustling in the bushes in the bushes startled him, making him shut his book and stay as silent as he possibly could. Cradled up tightly, he grabbed his hood and adjusted it on his head, just in case he needed to go out. More rustling came, this time closer than it had just been. A minute more passed without a sound, so he decided to quietly approach the door and peek outside. Unzipping it slightly, he glanced around, looking for any sort of strangeness going on outside. After seeing nothing, he let out a sigh and turned back around, where a U.F.O. shaped robot hovered just above his bed. Letting out a shriek, he grabbed his book, thankful it was just next to him, and bolted outside. One look behind him showed that it was fast approaching, so he dashed into the trees, hoping he could outrun it.

Several roots sticking out of the ground brushed against him, and he was glad that he didn’t have any feet, otherwise he would have tripped several times by now. Occasionally, he looked behind him to see two glowing eyes still following him, so he continued running. Getting an idea all of a sudden, he broke for the nearest tree and quickly rounded it, staying as bundled up as he could behind it. The pursuer passed by, then quickly stopped, turning back around. Slowly, it hovered towards his hiding spot, where he would be spotted in seconds if he didn’t do something. Off of memory, he recited a confusion spell and blindly aimed it at the bot’s general direction. Being an apprentice at casting, however, the magic gave it a short shock instead of the intended result. He continued his escape just afterwards, no destination in mind.

Eventually, he began feeling exhausted and hoped for a safe place to stay for some time. Firing off another confusion spell, this time correctly, the U.F.O. turned around several times wildly and erratically floated into the depths of the woods. Thankful that he was safe, at least for a while, he started walking ahead towards a clearing he spotted, lit by the moonlight. 

A pond lay in the area, glimmering from the light. He sat down next to it, deciding that he absolutely needed some time to rest soon or he would collapse. Deciding to enjoy the time for the time being, even if it was just a moment, he slowly closed his eyes and immersed himself in the quiet sounds of nature. Water rippling, plants waving and...

“Oof!”

Something fell on the ground not too far away, and he quickly hid behind a tree. Coming into the moonlight next to the pond, a figure wearing a cap, red jacket, and large backpack appeared and sat down, staring at it. They looked fairly young, most likely not too much older than himself. Against his better judgement, he slowly came out from his hiding spot and approached. The figure still hadn’t noticed him, so he went up until he was just behind him and opened his mouth to talk, but nothing came out. A few more attempts passed, but he was too nervous to get any conversation going. Finally, the figure looked up and noticed him standing there, making him jump back a little.

“Oh, hi. Didn’t see you there,” they said calmly, giving a wave.

Magolor crept backwards for a little, then broke out running into the trees, hoping he could find somewhere he could be alone.

“W-wait! Come back!” they called out, not making a move to chase him down.

When he was sure that he was out of sight, he rested against a tree, forgetting about the robot still lurking. He thought about if he had made the right move, running off like that. They could have been of help to him, yes, but they could also have been dangerous, and who knows what they could have done then. A few footsteps knocked him out of his thought process, and he peeked out to see what it was. The figure was walking by, looking at some flat, rectangular box of some sort. Looking around for a moment, they continued walking forwards. With a sigh of relief, he went just around the tree, finding himself placed just below the robot from earlier. Letting out a short scream, he ran back towards the pond.

Running a few laps around the water, the machine eventually realised his plan and cut him off part way through. It chased him down to a corner in a rock wall, leaving him with no more room to run. He was too scared to cast a spell, and held up his hands to brace for whatever was coming.

A small stick was tossed at the robot, oddly making a metallic sound as it bounced off. Looking back around, a red pack was smashed into its front, leaving it struggling to stay aloft. The figure from earlier appeared and retrieved both objects from the ground, giving it another smack in the process.

“Magolor, run!” the figure yelled at him, and he immediately obeyed.

Back in the trees, he was left confused on what just happened. The most important thing was the fact that they rescued him, despite only just seeing him, but also that they knew his name. Hiding behind another tree, he heard footsteps approach, quickly at first, then getting slower as they neared him. When they were close enough, he heard heavy panting, then something fall on the floor. Looking out, he saw the figure sitting down, looking around. At one point, the two made eye contact, and he slowly approached.

“H-hi,” he said timidly, giving a wave. “Uh, t-thanks for the help.”

“Oh, no problem.” They got up and took a step towards him. “Listen. We’re not safe right now. That flying U.F.O. thingy is still lurking about, and we can’t be sure that we’re fine until we take it down.”

“B-but how are we supposed to d-do that?”

“Well, I’ve seen you do some of that magic. Maybe we can put that to use, along with some of my stuff.” They softly elbowed their backpack. “What I need of you is something that’ll power this up. This is fairly heavy on its own, but it still doesn’t pack enough of a punch to defeat that thing.”

“O-okay, I can try.”

He looked through his book for a little, using the moonlight to read, until he came across just what he was looking for. They put down their backpack in front of him and stepped back. Chanting a few words, the pack suddenly started faintly glowing green and emanating an aura. When he finished, they walked up to it and dangled it off of one of their shoulders.

“Let’s do this,” they said with determination.

The machine stuck around the pool, patrolling it in case they returned. Its targets were hiding behind a nearby tree, watching it carefully. The stranger walked out and motioned for him to stay put, then approached it. Immediately spotting them, it started giving off shocks from itself, preparing for an attack. Just afterwards, it lazily dashed towards him, easily being avoided. With a grunt, the figure pulled off their backpack, crouched down, and jumped as high as they could, smashing their pack into the foe, sending it staggering. Before it could recover, it was sent several more blows, until finally breaking down into a few soft explosions. They ran back to the hiding spot, crouching down, just as it exploded into bits and pieces. Looking at each other for a second, the two walked to the pool and sat at its edge.

“That... was exhausting,” they said, panting.

“Yeah, and p-pretty cool too.” He looked up at them.

Both sat in silence for some time, staring out towards the water.

“If it isn’t too much to ask, w-who are you? A-and how did you know my name?” He felt nervous asking them anything.

They said nothing for a while. “My name is Dan. I... come from far away. For your second question, uh, I can’t tell you that. You see, I’ve been looking around for a certain something that will let me leave this place. And I happened upon you in the process, so I decided to help.”

“What do you m-mean, leave?”

“That’s... a long story. Let’s just say I got lost somewhere far, far away and I’m trying to find my way home.”

More silence followed.

“Well, t-thanks for the help. I’m really fortunate to have stumbled upon you.”

“Yeah, you’re welcome.” After a while, he asked, “Also, what are you doing all the way out here? I wouldn’t have expected someone your age to be wandering around like this.”

“I could say the same thing to you.” Magolor gave a soft chuckle. “I... got separated from my group. That thing chased me all the way out here and I got lost.” He looked down. “It’s not like they’d even notice I’m gone, anyway,” he almost mumbled afterwards.

Despite the volume of his last remark, Dan heard him anyways. “You’re the left out one too? I know that feeling all too well.” He sighed.

“What do you mean?”

“Back where I’m from, I’ve always been the kind of lonely one. No one wants to work with me, talk to me, or even care to say hello.” Dan looked up to the sky. “And I’ve had to deal with this for nearly eight, long years.” He sat there, staring upwards for a minute or so. “Well, I’m going to need to get going soon. The battery I’m looking for won’t find itself. Need some help finding your way back?”

“Y-yes.” He had a question, but was felt too uneasy about it to ask.

After a little more rest, Dan got up and motioned for him to follow. They walked back into the trees in search of the battery he had mentioned.

“H-hey, uh...” He called Dan so quietly that he didn’t hear.

“Y’call?”

“N-no.”

Dan eyed him somewhat suspiciously. “Alright then.”

* * *

“Should be just about here...” Dan looked like he was close to finding what he needed.

Magolor looked up at him nervously. He decided that it was now or never, since Dan said something about leaving, and he ought to ask him before then.

“H-hey.”

Dan turned around. “Yeah?”

“You wouldn’t mind if... I could...” No response. “Oh, can I just join you on your journey? No one here likes me anyways.” Dan was taken aback a little. “You know what? Just forget I said anything.”

A second passed. “No, no, I think I have room for one more. It’d be nice to have some company.”

He looked up at him excitedly. “R-really? Thank you so much! I won’t disappoint you!”

“Yeah, yeah. That magic of yours would be real helpful in some situations.”

He sagged slightly. “But... I’m only just learning everything. I’m not that great at all of it.”

“Nonsense. You see what you just did with my pack? That worked fine. And even if you can’t do everything, you can do enough.”

They continued walking forwards for a bit until Magolor asked, “Say, where are we going after you find that... whatever you were looking for anyway?”

Dan sighed. “To be honest, even I don’t know.” A few steps later and he stopped all of a sudden. “Hang on, it should be right here. Do you happen to have a light spell or something? Preferably not fire.”

A short incantation later and a soft glow emerged from his hands, which he held towards Dan. He started to search along the ground, pushing away bushes and plants in his way. As Dan moved, he moved along with him, until finally he grabbed something and held it up.

“Aha! Here it is!” He took off his pack and opened a pocket. Much sifting around later and he pulled out a blaster of some sort and zipped up the pack. Magolor instinctively held his hands up.

“Woah, woah, woah! Relax, this thing ain’t for you! I don’t even think it can shoot anything harmful,” he said after seeing the scared expression on his new friend. A short while later, he slowly his hands down, obviously scarred by what just happened. “Come on, let me show you something.”

Guiding him towards the backpack, Dan opened the largest pocket. “Hop in,” he said, gesturing towards it. As he slowly climbed into it, he realised it wasn’t enough to fit him fully, so his head popped out from the top. Setting his book down next to him, the pack was lifted up, him still in it. After giving off a slight gasp, he was set back down.

“Not your thing? Sorry, I guess I should have told you what I was doing.”

“W-wait, no! It was pretty cool! Can I go in again?” He was practically bouncing around.

“Uh, sure thing.”

Back on Dan’s shoulders, he decided to get some reading done. “Would you mind if I practiced some spells back here?”

“Go ahead, just don’t burn my hair off or something.” They both giggled softly at this. Dan tinkered with the blaster and the battery for a while until saying, “Looks like this is just about ready. Lemmie just set this up and...”

The loud sound of flowing energy startled him, and he turned around to see what it was. A large, circular vortex had appeared just in front of them, but Dan didn’t seem at all concerned by it.

“W-what’s that?” he asked nervously from his spot in the pack.

“That, is my ticket out of here.” He held the blaster behind him. “Could you put this in the pocket in front of you?” He did so. Dan backed up from the portal a little. “This is your last chance. Do you want to stay here or come with me? There likely won’t be a way back here if you leave, or at least an easy one, so make your choice.”

“I... I’m coming with you!”

“Sounds great. Hold on tight, because we’re in for a wild ride.” Dan rushed towards the portal, bouncing him around on his back, and leaped into it, making sure his friend hadn’t fallen out. Upon entering, they lazily drifted around in a swirling blue background.

“W-what are we doing now?” Magolor asked.

“Just wait and see,” Dan replied, motioning towards the dark orb approaching them.

Turning around, his eyes widened at the sight, but he wasn’t able to do much more before it surrounded them, knocking them both out.


End file.
